Name dispute over the Sea of ​​Japan

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Sea of ​​Japan, East Sea or East Sea of ​​Korea?

There has been an ongoing dispute between Japan , North Korea and South Korea since 1992 over the name of the Sea of ​​Japan , which lies between the three states.

South Korea insists on renaming Sea of Japan ( Sea of Japan ) to East Sea (East Sea) on international card. The name Sea of ​​Korea (Korean Sea) is also brought into play by South Korea. North Korea would like to see the sea renamed the East Sea of ​​Korea , but otherwise also supports South Korea's proposal to rename it "East Sea". To date, Japan has been hostile to all requests for change. Russia, as another country bordering this sea, is cautious in this dispute.

The United Nations Conference on Standardization of Geographical Names (UNCSGN) has neither accepted nor rejected the request by North and South Korea . Until a decision is made, the name "Sea of ​​Japan" is still recommended for international use. The name "Sea of ​​Japan" continues to be used in Japan, the Republic of China (Taiwan) , Russia and the People's Republic of China . In South Korea, the government and the South Korean media consistently use the name "East Sea", while in North Korea the name "East Korean Sea" is used throughout.

Arguments

Both sides have put forward a number of arguments to support their demands to keep or change names. Many of the arguments were made by nationalist organizations rather than governments.

Geographical reasons

Japanese groups argue that the name “East Sea”, which North and South Korea is promoting, is geographically ambiguous. In contrast to the existing name, it can, for example, refer to the East China Sea or be confused with translations of local names in other seas, for example with the South China Sea , for which the Vietnamese local name Bien dong literally means "East Sea". The situation is comparable with the Baltic Sea , whose name Baltic Sea is only used to a regional extent.

North and South Korean groups argue that the sea is in the eastern part of the Asian continent. The situation is comparable with the North Sea , which derives its name from its northern location in Europe.

Historical reasons

Naming the sea in historical maps

Both sides present selected examples of historical maps to support their claim. Japan argues with historical maps that bear the name "Sea of ​​Japan" but do not date from its colonial days. South Korea argues with historical maps that do not contain the name "Sea of ​​Japan". However, the old maps are often ambiguous and partly show neither Japan nor Korea.

Part of the name dispute is reduced to the question of when the name "Sea of ​​Japan" became the de facto standard:

Japanese groups argue that the name "Sea of ​​Japan" was originally coined by the Europeans and made the de facto standard by them . After evaluating maps, reference is made to the early 19th century, a time before Japan gained economic and political influence in the region, including with regard to the naming of the sea.

South Korean groups insist on the early 20th century, when Korea was incorporated into the Japanese Empire . Therefore, North and South Korea see the current dominance of the name "Sea of ​​Japan" as a reflection of Japan's imperial past.

Studies of historical maps

“Kunyu Wanguo Quantu”, drawn in 1602 by Matteo Ricci in Beijing . It is the oldest known map of this marine region. The sea is shown as "海 本 日" ("Sea of ​​Japan").

In July 2001, South Korea submitted a report on maps from Europe. Most of the maps are from the 19th century and have been restored in the British Library . Of 377 maps that also show this sea, 72 name it as the “Korean Sea” and / or “East Sea” and 10 maps use the name “Sea of ​​Japan”.

In 2002 the University of Southern California (USC) published its digital archive of maps related to the topic on the Internet - 172 maps from the 17th and 19th centuries. Names for this sea did not appear until the 18th century. "Sea of ​​Korea" or "East Sea" is used 95 times as a name, while the name "Sea of ​​Japan" appears only once. "Sea of ​​Japan" is used nine times and "Sea of ​​Korea" 30 times on 19th century maps. Out of a total of 165 maps in the collection, 135 use the term “Korean Sea” or “East Sea” and only ten use the term “Sea of ​​Japan”.

In December 2002, South Korea filed a report of the names on 228 cards issued prior to 1800 and held by the US Library of Congress . According to this report, two thirds of the maps are named "East Sea", "Korean Sea" or similar variants.

The South Korean Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries found that when they examined 763 historical maps in various government agencies and university libraries around the world, the name “Korean Sea”, “East Sea” or a variant appeared 440 times.

On the other hand, in September 2003 Japan submitted a report on the naming on European maps that were issued between 1801 and 1861 and were evaluated by the British Library and the University of Cambridge . Of the 37 British Library maps showing the area around the ocean, 32 use the name "Sea of ​​Japan" and 5 use the name "Sea of ​​Korea". 21 maps were found at the University of Cambridge, of which 18 used the name "Sea of ​​Japan" and 3 used the name "Sea of ​​Korea".

In March 2004, the Japanese Foreign Ministry published a report containing a list of maps from the French National Library . Of the 1495 maps examined (published between the 16th and 19th centuries), 407 use a name for the sea, 249 times "Sea of ​​Japan" and 60 times "Sea of ​​Korea". No map was found that used the name "East Sea". Maps from the first half of the 19th century were also examined. Of these, 90% (99 cards) used the name "Sea of ​​Japan". Maps printed in the second half of the 19th century used 100% (105 maps) of the name "Sea of ​​Japan".

Another Japanese State Department report on the naming dispute deals with maps in the US National Archives and Records Administration . Of the 1435 maps depicting the disputed sea, 1110 use the name "Sea of ​​Japan".

On February 18, 2010, the "Korea Maritime Institute" presented a study, according to which of around 20,000 examined historical maps from one of the largest private collections (David Rumsey Collection website), only 6% used the name "East Sea" wear. 55% of the maps were labeled with "Sea of ​​Japan" and for another 35% the sea area had no name.

Ownership claims

North Korea and South Korean groups argue that the name "Sea of ​​Japan" represented property claims to an international body of water, since the Japanese proposal to the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) for this name and its official naming came at a time when Korea was one was a Japanese colony. In this regard, the current name is not felt to be neutral.

From the Japanese side, however, it is emphasized that no property claims are made on this sea and that it is only a name.

Further arguments for keeping the current name

The Japanese also state that the renaming would represent a troubling precedent. Renaming or double naming would contradict the spirit of geographic standardization. Since the name "Sea of ​​Japan" has been introduced internationally, renaming it would be an avoidable complication.

Further arguments for changing the current name

Country name independence

Since the sea can theoretically be separated by the exclusive economic zones of the individual countries, South Korea finds it “inappropriate” and unjustifiable to use a uniform name without the consent of all the countries surrounding the sea.

Age of names

The Korean side argues that the name “East Sea” is significantly older than the name “Sea of ​​Japan”. The first evidence of the use of this term comes from the Gwanggaeto stele (414 AD). The term is also used in Samguk Sagi (written 1145) and the book about the history of the Three Kingdoms by the Chinese author Luo Guanzhong († around 1400). In Japan, on the other hand, the term "Sea of ​​Japan" did not exist at that time, there this part of the Pacific Ocean was nameless at that time . This designation is documented for the first time on the maps and in the reports of the Jesuit Matteo Ricci around the year 1600.

Reactions from the media and publishers

Japanese Sea (East Sea) - spelling in German school atlases

Most publishers around the world still just use the name "Sea of ​​Japan". This case is also used for German school atlases, for example. Few publishers and editors have addressed the name dispute by including both names on their cards. So far there is only one publisher in Germany that has this printed. Of the larger publishers worldwide, these are the US publisher Rand McNally and the Encyclopedia Britannica . In a few cases the area has been left without a name at all. Some publishers have adopted the name "Ostmeer" without any additional information. Google Earth shows this name as the only name near the coast of South Korea, but in all other areas the name "Sea of ​​Japan".

In 1999 the National Geographic Society recognized that South Korea had the right to contest the name "Sea of ​​Japan". Since then, the National Geographical Society has named the body of water in the form of the "Sea of ​​Japan (East Sea)". It is their general guideline to add officially controversial names in parentheses.

Around 2002, a volunteer South Korean cyber organization started an aggressive email campaign to webmasters with the primary goal of replacing the name "Sea of ​​Japan" with the name "East Sea", which is favored by North and South Korea. This group had both successes and setbacks from the backlash from proponents of the current sea name.

Historical development of the name dispute

In 1919 the IHO held a conference on the naming of waters with internationally accepted names. At that time, only the name "Sea of ​​Japan" was used on international maps. The Japanese delegation has therefore proposed the name “Sea of ​​Japan” as the official name. Since Korea had been incorporated into the Japanese Empire as a Japanese colony since 1910 and thus had long since ceased to exist at the time of the IHO conference, there was no opportunity for this now former country to participate. The first geographical directory of names of the IHO Limits of Oceans and Seas (1928) thus contained the name "Sea of ​​Japan".

In 1974 IHO issued technical resolution A.4.2.6 independently of this dispute. Although general guidelines are provided in this resolution, references are often made to them. The resolution states that both names are to be used simultaneously in controversial geographical terms. This should apply in particular if the same geographic unit extends over both countries.

In 1977, the 3rd UN Conference on the Standardization of Geographical Names (UNSCGN) passed the resolution names of geographical units outside a single sovereign state (III / 20). This resolution recommends:

“When states share a geographical unit and cannot agree on a common name, it should be a general rule in cartography to accept both names. To just take one name and exclude the other would be inconsistent and impractical in practice. "

In 1992, South Korea requested that the issue be placed on the agenda of the 6th UNCSGN conference. The application was rejected by an objection from Japan.

In 1995, contrary to the resolutions listed above, South Korea deleted the name "Sea of ​​Japan" from its official nautical charts . Until then, according to the international convention, South Korean nautical charts had both names printed on them - "Sea of ​​Japan" and "East Sea".

In 1997 South Korea raised the subject again at the 7th UNCSGN conference. Further discussion was rejected by the appeal of Japan. Both countries were again referred to the above-mentioned resolution III / 20 and asked to come to an agreement. To date, however, neither country is willing to sacrifice its position for a compromise.

In 2002, South Korea's application to put the subject on the agenda of the 8th UNSCGN conference failed because of the Japanese objection.

In 2002 the IHO issued a circular in which it called for a vote on open questions - including the name "Sea of ​​Japan". Specifically, these were open pages of the fourth edition of Limits of Ocean and Sea . After an objection from Japan, the letter was withdrawn.

In 2004, on April 23, the UN confirmed in a letter to the Japanese government that the name “Sea of ​​Japan” would continue to be used in official documents. However, the topic is kept open for further discussion. In a letter to South Korea, the same institution stressed that it would not decide on the validity of either name, but would continue to use the currently most popular name until the two sides had resolved their disagreements.

In November 2006, on the sidelines of the APEC summit , South Korea’s President Roh Moo-hyun submitted the informal proposal to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzō Abe to rename the sea ​​to “Sea of ​​Peace”, “Sea of ​​Friendship” or “Sea of ​​Reconciliation”. In early 2007 this proposal was rejected by the Japanese. This was justified with the lack of need to change names.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b East Sea. In: mofa.go.kr. Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade of the Republic of Korea, accessed July 25, 2020 .
  2. ^ East Sea, the Name Used for Two Millennia , The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade / The Northeast Asian History Foundation, June 2008, page 7.
  3. ↑ Japanese Foreign Ministry: Efforts of the Government of Japan in Response to the Issue of the Name of the Sea of ​​Japan , March 2003
  4. ^ East Sea of ​​Korea Is Not Sea of ​​Japan. In: nkaggregator.com. Korea Risk Group, March 12, 2004, accessed January 5, 2019 .
  5. ^ Japanese Coast Guard - Hydrographic and Oceanography Division: Change of the names adopted in the Foreign Maps ( Memento August 3, 2004 in the Internet Archive ), found March 7, 2009
  6. ↑ a b Japanese Foreign Ministry: Sea of ​​Japan - A Globally Established Name (video clips) , found March 7, 2009
  7. ^ East Sea, the Name Used for Two Millennia , The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade / The Northeast Asian History Foundation, June 2008, page 3.
  8. ↑ Sea of ​​Korea Map Collection ( Memento June 13, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
  9. ↑ KBS World : Only 6% of Huge Historical Map Collection Uses 'East Sea' Label , accessed February 18, 2010
  10. ^ East Sea. Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Commerce, 2011, accessed March 26, 2011 .
  11. ^ East Sea - The name used for two thousand years. (PDF; 22.1 MB) In: historyfoundation.or.kr. Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade of South Korea, 2011, archived from the original on October 6, 2013 ; Retrieved on September 5, 2019 (argumentation brochure with historical illustrations and maps).
  12. ^ East China, Korea, Japan - Economy. In: Diercke. Retrieved September 3, 2019 .
  13. ↑ Verlag Kober-Kümmerly + Frey, Weltkarte , found on February 2, 2009
  14. ↑ a b Spiegel Online : Asiatic map war reaches Germany , Author: Alexander Neubacher, published on May 14, 2004
  15. ^ Encyclopedia Britannica , online edition, found June 6, 2006
  16. ↑ Korea Times: KOREA: Google asked to identify Korea correctly ( Memento of May 20, 2011 in the Internet Archive ), Published by: AsiaMedia - Media News Daily Author: Cho Jin-seo, Published on August 2, 2006, found on August 8, 2006. March 2009
  17. ^ The Society for East Sea, Department of Geography Education, College of Education Seoul National University: The Historical precedent , written January 2000, published on The Voluntary Agency Network of Korea: VANK, found March 22, 2009
  18. ^ Roh Proposed New Name for East Sea to Japan. In: The Chosun Ilbo. January 9, 2007, accessed July 4, 2014 .
  19. ↑ Shiozaki: No need to change name of Sea of ​​Japan. In: The Japan Times Online. January 10, 2007, accessed July 4, 2014 .